Week 12 NFL Picks will be posted all day Wednesday, per the new schedule. I've received mix reaction to this, so voice your opinion via e-mail or in the comment box below. Follow me @walterfootball for updates.

Emmitt on the Brink is back! Season 5, Episode 12 has been posted - Bountygate II goes beyond the NFL.

SAN DIEGO OFFENSE: Philip Rivers didn't have a chance against the Broncos. With Jared Gaither out of the lineup, both of his tackles were completely abused by Denver's prolific pass-rushers. The Ravens don't exactly have a duo like Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil at their disposal, but Terrell Suggs is getting healthier each week. Baltimore has recorded three sacks in each of its past two games, which doesn't bode well for Rivers if Gaither is out of the lineup once again.

Fortunately for Rivers, he now has a legitimate downfield target to throw to, which is something he desperately needed because Antonio Gates can't get open anymore. Danario Alexander, who is finally healthy, notched 12 catches, 230 yards and three touchdowns in the past two weeks. Baltimore's secondary definitely will be challenged to contain him.

The good news for the Ravens is that the Chargers aren't exactly built to take advantage of their greatest weakness, which is stopping the run. Baltimore has surrendered 4.7 YPC to the opposition since Week 5, but the hobbled and perennially overrated Ryan Mathews just isn't that talented.

BALTIMORE OFFENSE: The Ravens, on the other hand, should be able to rush the football - assuming Cam Cameron remembers to call plays for Ray Rice. Rice had a rough outing against a spirited Pittsburgh defense, but the Chargers just yielded 133 rushing yards to Willis McGahee, Ronnie Hillman and Lance "Play Hatas'" Ball. How are they going to contain Rice - assuming his own offensive coordinator doesn't contain him?

The Chargers are weakest against the pass. They've been torched by every competent quarterback they've played this season. Despite his inconsistency, Joe Flacco is competent, and he tends to rebound off poor performances. His offensive line has kept him clean for the most part since the bye - he's been sacked thrice in three games - which is good news for him because San Diego's poor pass rush actually showed signs of life last week, as rookie lineman Kendall Reyes collected two sacks on Peyton Manning. That's a difficult feat because Manning releases the ball so quickly.

The Ravens should be able to score touchdowns when they cross the San Diego 20-yard line. They have a top-10 red-zone offense, while the Chargers are 31st in red-zone defense, ranking ahead of only Buffalo in that regard.

RECAP: This is a very tough spot for the Ravens. They just won an emotional game and have to play the Steelers again in seven days. Traveling to San Diego has not been kind to them; the Chargers destroyed them in a Week 15 battle last year, 34-14. In fact, Baltimore is an insane 2-10 against the spread on the West Coast in franchise history (1-3 ATS under John Harbaugh).

This game means much more to San Diego, as the team still has a chance at a wild-card berth if it wins out. Plus, the Chargers will want to play for Norv Turner. He sucks as a head coach, but Rivers and the rest of the players love him for whatever reason. The Ravens, meanwhile, are pretty much locked into the No. 2 seed, so they don't have much to play for.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I still like the Chargers enough to take them for three units.

The Psychology. Edge: Chargers.
This game means more to San Diego. The Ravens are coming off an emotional win and have the Steelers again next week.

Jerks of the Week for Nov. 19, 2012 is up, so just click the link. This week's jerk is It's Thanksgiving by Nicole Westbrook.

SAN FRANCISCO OFFENSE: Jim Harbaugh told the media that he was going to ride the hot hand in terms of picking a starting quarterback, but perhaps he'll just ride the non-concussed head. Per the Sacramento Bee, Colin Kaepernick is currently the favorite to start. Alex Smith still hasn't been cleared to play - he was in a non-contact jersey during Wednesday's practice - but it really shouldn't matter, given how sharp Kaepernick was against a stout Chicago defense Monday night.

Kaepernick will be playing on the road this time in an extremely hostile environment. Offsetting that, however, is the fact that the Saints' defense is so porous. Though they've started coming up with a couple of key turnovers each week, they still have surrendered a ridiculous average of 344 passing yards per game since their Week 6 bye.

Kaepernick's scrambling ability will also be a factor, as he'll avoid a weak New Orleans pass rush that usually has trouble getting to the quarterback. It'll also keep the defense honest, as it won't be able to fully pay attention to Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter coming out of the backfield. The Saints are dead last against the run, yielding 5.1 YPC to opposing backs.

NEW ORLEANS OFFENSE: Before you think that Drew Brees will struggle versus the 49ers' stalwart defense, recall what happened in the playoffs. Brees went 40-of-63 for 462 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions against them - and this was in San Francisco. Brees is much more dangerous in his dome.

Though San Francisco's defense looked superb Monday night, there are still three lingering issues. One, cornerback Carlos Rogers and safety Donte Whitner are not playing particularly well, so Brees will expose them. Two, the 49ers have struggled against the run at times. For instance, they permitted 159 rushing yards to the Rams two weeks ago. The Saints don't primarily focus on pounding the rock, but they are capable of doing so to give Brees those all-important short-yardage situations.

And three, San Francisco is just a mediocre 16th in red-zone defense this season. This is significant because the Saints have the No. 1 red-zone offense. New Orleans will move the chains consistently, as the team usually does at home, and it will come away with sevens instead of threes deep in opposing territory because the 49ers have been just "meh" there.

RECAP: There's no line on this game, but I will take the Saints if they are home underdogs. Stay tuned for a unit amount once a spread is posted.

PICK POSTED: If the 49ers weren't coming off a blowout victory on Monday night (a bet-on situation), this would be a much greater play on the Saints. I'm picking them for two units. Drew Brees is a perfect 5-0 ATS as a home underdog with New Orleans.

FINAL THOUGHTS: The 49ers are still the play for me.

The Psychology. Edge: None.
No psychological edge found.

The Vegas. Edge: 49ers.
Slight lean on the host.

Percentage of money on New Orleans: 63% (18,000 bets)

The Trends. Edge: Saints.

MNF Magic: Teams coming off wins of 17+ on MNF are 40-21 ATS the following week.

It's time for some Migelini Madness! NFL.com sucks. They no longer have their regular GameCenter chat format; they installed a Facebook chat app instead, which really blows. This means that we won't be hearing from our favorite idiots anymore. No more pervy Aaron3619. No more stupid Migelini. No more childish Taton. No more insane Farim.

Well, I'm taking a stand against this via two methods. First, I have hundreds of unused GameCenter comments saved up, so I have enough to survive for a few more years. Second, I plan on re-creating our favorite GameCenter characters and having them troll the Facebook posters in the app. I made a Migelini account and my girlfriend, Awesome Girl Who Loves Football, who was once harassed by Aaron3619, is the new Aaron. Feel free to re-create other ones!

Here's a guy who thought the Bengals had a trap game against the Chiefs:

On the other end of the spectrum, here's someone who thinks the Bengals would win easily:

How do you download spellcheck? And why does Chad think that someone as stupid as Mario Migelini is capable of downloading anything?

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the AFC North...

Nice job by Ken referencing Billy Madison, but I wish I could ask him what he has against managors of Best Buy. What an elitist douche.

ARIZONA OFFENSE: The Cardinals' quarterback is Ryan Lindley. Can I just move on to breaking down the Rams' offense? No? You want analysis on Ryan Lindley? OK...

Lindley sucks. Not only was he inaccurate against the Falcons; he was incredibly tentative in the pocket. He hurried his throws and simply didn't look like he belonged on the field. I mean, in all fairness, most people would be scared to be playing behind a crap offensive line. That's a major problem in this contest with Chris Long and Robert Quinn on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Lindley won't have a chance.

Arizona's only hope of moving the chains is establishing is solid ground attack like it did last week. Chris Wells will be back, so he'll likely share carries with LaRod Stephens-Howling. Will they be effective though? I don't think so. The Rams are a decent 12th versus the rush (4.1 YPC), while the Falcons are 31st (4.9 YPC).

ST. LOUIS OFFENSE: Speaking of stopping the run, the Cardinals haven't been able to do that since their first matchup against the Rams. St. Louis rushed for 192 yards in that contest. The problem was that Darnell Dockett was playing injured. Dockett had been banged up until last week when he finally looked like his old self. As a consequence, the Falcons gained just 61 yards on the ground.

Sam Bradford will be asked to do more than he did in the prior matchup. He was barely functional in that contest following an impressive opening scoring drive. Part of the problem was that Danny Amendola broke his collar bone in the second quarter. Fortunately for St. Louis, Amendola is pretty much healthy now.

I like the Rams' chances of moving the chains in this contest, but they must convert in the red zone. They've been better in this aspect recently, but they still rank in the bottom 10 of red-zone conversions on the year. The Cardinals are ninth in terms of stopping the opposition deep in their own territory.

RECAP: It's funny how public perception works. Two weeks ago, most people believed the Rams didn't stand a chance in San Francisco. Following a tie, everyone was betting on them to beat the Jets. Now, after a loss, people are wagering on Ryan Lindley as a favorite.

I went against St. Louis last week because I thought the team would be looking ahead to this divisional battle. The Rams will be focused. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are in a tough spot, as home favorites tend to struggle prior to playing as road underdogs in consecutive weeks.

Oh, and if you're still not convinced the Rams are the right side, Ryan freaking Lindley is favored. Think about that for a second.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Is Ryan Lindley still starting for the Cardinals? Yeah? Then I'm going with the Rams.

The Psychology. Edge: None.
No psychological edge found.

The Vegas. Edge: None.
Equal action.

Percentage of money on St. Louis: 53% (20,000 bets)

The Trends. Edge: Cardinals.

History: Cardinals have won 10 of the last 12 meetings.

Rams are 8-4 ATS on the road after a home loss of 10+ excluding September games since 2005.

Rams are 22-35 ATS on grass since 2001.

Cardinals are 17-6 ATS at home as underdogs or favorites of less than -3 under Ken Whisenhunt.

I can't wait until we have a whole army of former GameCenter personalities harassing people on Facebook. That's what NFL.com gets for getting rid of the GameCenter chat. My girlfriend is the new Aaron.

We had a whole swarm of trollers in this thread:

I love how Shane Hargrave spent so much time arguing with all of us.

Speaking of all of us, look at how many trolls showed up in this thread:

I feel like more normal people would have appeared, but there were hardly any posters on the Bengals-Chiefs page, and for good reason. We are, however, making people feel better about themselves:

Ah, sweet, sweet irony.

NEW YORK OFFENSE: Prior to the bye, every film guru agreed that Eli Manning had a fatigued arm. They were apparently right because Manning was ordered to rest his arm during the week off. It's impossible to know whether this will help Manning break out of his funk or not, so we'll just have to find out.

Manning is getting the Packers at a great time, at least on paper. Several defenders are out, including Clay Matthews and Charles Woodson. The thing is though, several Green Bay defenders have stepped up since those veterans went down. Dezman Moses has done a good job of rushing the passer in Matthews' spot. On the other side, Erik Walden recorded two sacks against the Lions. He has an easy matchup against inept right tackle David Diehl, who should not be starting. I don't understand why Tom Couglin benched Sean Locklear in favor of Diehl because Locklear had been doing a superb job. Meanwhile, corners Casey Hayward and Davon House, as well as safety M.D. Jennings all played well versus Matthew Stafford last week.

Manning is going to have a tough time throwing the ball if his arm hasn't completely recovered. In that case, he'll rely heavily on a ground attack that has been quite forceful this year. The Packers just surrendered 98 rushing yards to the Lions, so Ahmad Bradshaw and Andre Brown figure to have success.

GREEN BAY OFFENSE: If you have holes in your back seven, Aaron Rodgers will expose them. He's just that good. And the Giants have several spots that can easily be taken advantage of.

Here are the three biggest issues: Chase Blackburn is one of the worst middle linebackers in football. Cornerback Corey Webster has been torched relentlessly all year. Nickel corner Jayron Hosley has also struggled. Rodgers will be going into this game thinking that he can: A) air it out to either Jordy Nelson or James Jones (whomever Webster is covering), B) find an emerging Jermichael Finley over the middle and C) take advantage of Randall Cobb's edge over Hosley in the slot.

There are too many mismatches in Green Bay's favor, so the Giants will have to pressure Rodgers. It'll be interesting to see if they can do that because Jason Pierre-Paul has been the only lineman who has consistently gotten to the quarterback this year. The Packers' offensive line is a weak point, so Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora will have to step up.

RECAP: Before this line came out, I planned on picking whichever team was the underdog. Thus, I like the Packers. I won't go heavy on them though because the Giants are coming off a bye and could be pissed that everyone is doubting them.

FINAL THOUGHTS: If the Giants weren't coming off a bye, I'd love the Packers.

The Psychology. Edge: None.
No psychological edge found.

The Vegas. Edge: Giants.
I'm not surprised that people are on the Packers.

Percentage of money on Green Bay: 79% (62,000 bets)

The Trends. Edge: Packers.

Aaron Rodgers is 20-9 ATS on the road as long as he's not favored by 6.5 or more points.

This week on Monday Night Football, we're going to have Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden calling the shots instead of the great preseason homers like Kevin Reilly and Don Tollefson, inept ESPN guys Emmitt and Matt Millen, annoying guys like Charles Davis and senile guys like Bob Greise. Here's what it would sound like if those five clowns were calling this game:

Kevin Reilly: Welcome to Philadelphia, the greatest place in the world and home of the greatest team in the universe. Guys, I know the Eagles are just 3-7, but we're ready to dominate this terrible Carolina team. Us Eagles will prevail! E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!!!

Emmitt: Ross, I do not understadin' what you mean by usin' the word us. Us short for the alphabet U and the S, which stand for somebody, so you plus somebody equal us... Wait I just lost my trade of thought.

Reilly: Go back to sleep, old man. You're too ancient to handle the pain I'm about to inflict on the Panthers! Coach Reid, I'm ready! I have my helmet and pads on, and I'm ready to inflict pain! Put me in, Coach! Put me in!

Tollefson: Uhh... Kevin, you know that Andy can't hear you from up here, right?

Reilly: It doesn't matter, Tolly! Coach Reid and I are like this. He knows I'm ready. I know I'm ready. I'm going to destroy the Panthers! I just need a chance!

Tollefson: Hmm... interesting. Perhaps I should try this tactic. Hey, cheerleader babe. Come back to my hotel room. You know you want to because having sex is one of only three things you're capable of doing well. I'm ready. You're ready. Let's do this.

Millen: Did it work, Tolly?

Tollefson: We'll know soon enough. Hopefully that cheerleader will be pleasuring me after the game.

Millen: Let me try. Hey Cam, I have 25 new kielbasas in my hotel room that I want to try out. Come by later, and we can have a kielbasa party. Just you, me and the kielbasas. I'm ready. You're ready. Let's do this.

Tollefson: Shut up, Kevin. No one cares about your stupid Eagles. Sleeping with cheerleaders is more important.

Reilly: No it's not, idiot! The Eagles are the most important thing in the world, and you're going to pay dearly if we lose! We'll be back after a word from our local sponsors!

PHILADELPHIA OFFENSE: Ugh, do I really have to write about this game? I mean, if the Eagles don't have to try, then why should I? Meh, I guess I'll be the bigger man.

It's unclear who the quarterback will be in this game, but does it really matter? If it's QB Dog Killer (he didn't practice Wednesday), he's going to throw interceptions and/or cough up fumbles. If it's Nick Foles, he's going to throw checkdowns and get a half-hearted effort from his teammates. Whoever the signal-caller is probably won't have the luxury of giving the ball to LeSean McCoy, who suffered a concussion on a completely irrelevant carry at Washington, despite what Andy Reid may think.

Carolina's defense has been more functional ever since Luke Kuechly moved to the middle. But he's not the only one who has stepped up. Defensive ends Charles Johnson and Greg Hardy have both been awesome in terms of rushing the quarterback. They won't have much of a challenge against either tackle, as they'll put pressure on QBDK or Foles all night long.

CAROLINA OFFENSE: The Panthers have pass-protection issues as well; they're just two weeks removed from surrendering seven sacks to the Broncos. The good news for Cam Newton is that the Eagles are tied for the third-fewest sacks in football with 16.

The bigger issue for the Eagles is in their secondary. The safeties have no idea what they're doing, while Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (at least lately) have been getting torched. Newton has struggled at times this year, but this seems like a game where he can air it out and feel good about himself afterward.

The one thing the Eagles don't do terribly defensively is stop opposing backs. They rank 14th in that department (4.2 YPC). Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams have been unable to find running lanes all year. However, Newton will have success with his scrambling ability. After all, Robert Griffin just rushed for 84 yards against Philadelphia on Sunday.

RECAP: There's no line on this game, but I can't imagine myself picking the Eagles considering how terribly they're playing right now. However, I don't want to bet on Carolina either after that brutal overtime loss against the Buccaneers.

PICK POSTED: The 2-8 Panthers are somehow favored on the road. That's insane. Or is it? Did you know that teams that have had two or fewer wins by Week 12 or later are a perfect 2-0 against the spread as away favorites since 1989? OK, not much of a sample size, but it shows that it's not an automatic bet-against situation. In fact, I like Carolina for two units because A) Teams coming off home losses in overtime tend to cover and B) Nick Foles is under center, which means the worthless Eagles may not try again.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Had some awful luck yesterday. Hope that doesn't continue tonight. I'm still taking the Panthers for two units.

The Psychology. Edge: None.
No psychological edge found.

The Vegas. Edge: Eagles.
No surprise that people are betting the Panthers.

Week 12 NFL Picks - Early Games
Texans at Lions,
Redskins at Cowboys,
Patriots at Jets,
Raiders at Bengals,
Steelers at Browns,
Titans at Jaguars,
Broncos at Chiefs,
Vikings at Bears,
Bills at Colts,
Seahawks at Dolphins,
Falcons at Buccaneers

Prop/Teaser/Parlay Picks A list of some of my favorite team/player prop picks this week (Offense & defensive ROY picks to be counted
whenver winners are announced.) Picks carried over on a week-to-week basis will be in black.

None. I wanted to do a teaser of Patriots, Bengals and Broncos, but I forgot to submit it.

My Team-by-Team ATS Record This section shows how well I do when picking each team this year. The purpose is to see how well I read each team. Pushes are not
displayed. Winning/losing streak in parentheses.